Paper-vending machine



Sept. 15. 1925.

` E. B. CRAFT.

PAPER VENDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed oct. 9. 1922 Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED STATES ELMER B.Y CRAFT, O F DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

PAPER-VENDING MACHINE. j

Application filed october 9, 1922. serial No. 593,25?.

To all whom t may concert/L.'

Be it known that I, ELMER B. CRAFT, a Citizen vof the United Statesr vof America, residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State of Michigam have invented certainnew and useful Improvements in Paper- VendingMachines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had ltherein to the accompanying drawings.v

This invention relatesto-newspaper vending machines andthe inventionconsists in Vthestructural features and arrangement of parts hereinafter described. Y @In the drawings :f n j 'Figurelis-'a plan'view of the improved machine'with its top partially *broken away Ato show interior features 5. Figure 2 :is a cross section viewon line V'2--2 of Figure 1; v 1 Figure 3 isa cross section on line of Figure 1;

Figure 4 isa front View of an end portion of the machine;

Figures 5 and 6 are detail top and side 'views of av needle carrying arm whereby newspapers are adapted to be vindependently ejected from the machine.

In these views the reference character 1 .l A

Ysaid paper.- During the return lrocking `movementyof the shaft 1Q the pivotalends V13 of the arms 12. assume. thev position best designates abox or casing formed preferably of sheet metal and having its top 2 hinged adjacent its rear edge, as indicated at 3, to give entry to the box. kThe closure 2 is provided at its front edge witha depending flange 4, andV is adapted tobe locked to the body of the box, asV indicated at 5.

In the bottom portion of the box 1 there is arranged -a sheet meta-l plate 6 pivoted, as indicated at 6a, adjacent therear wall of lsaid Vbox and upwardly urged by coiled springs 7 respectively engaging the side edges 'of said plate. A supply of newspapers 6b (or other printedv matter of similar form) isadapted to be introduced into the box 1 above the plate 6, the latter subjecting the forward portions of the stack of papers to an upward pressure tending to maintain the uppermost paper engaged with a stop plate 8 which projects rearwardly withinthe upper portion of the box just above the discharge slot 9 in the front wall of the box. Thus as the papers are consecutively removed through said slot the spring urged plate 6 will continue to maintain the uppermost paper of the stack properly registered ywith said slot.` In dash lines inFigure 2`there is shown the positionr assumed bythe plate v6'when the supply. of papers j in the box is substantially exhausted.

In the upperportion of the box 1 a-rocl;

shaft lOismounted parallehto the front wall of the box, said shaftbeing journaled in bearings 11 which are preferably carried by an upward extension v1la of the plate 8.- Said shaft is.. sufficiently yelevated Within the box to be ,spaced a considerable distance above the' uppermost ofthe stack of papers which the bo-x isliritended to receive. .Upon said shaft respeetively-adjacent the .side walls Aof the b ox apair of arms12 are C 7o rigidly mounted, saidr arms` having hinged end portions 13 carrying needles 14downwardly directed to engage the uppermost of the stack of papers.i The hinged endportion r.of each arm is acted rupon by:1a',coiled 5:

spring 15 urging said end'portion normally to the initial position best shown in full lines in Figure 6. In shifting. from theirA normal'positions shown in full lines in Figure 2 to the dash line positions sho-wn rin the same g.

figure the arms 12 effect a rpartial ejection of the uppermost paper through the slotA 9 due to engagement of theineedles: 14 with shown in dash line in'FigureG so as to slide freely upon 4.the uppermostV of the stackv of papers. At yone end f of the box1thereis fo-rmed an auxiliary compartmentV 16 into whichan extremity of the shaft 10 is extended.'4 Upon said shaft within said compartment there is4 mounted fast a locking plate 17 and also an actuating lever 18, the

latter` extending through a vertical slot-'19. in the front wall of saidy compartment and j being downwardly urged by a coiled spring 19a to establish the normal position shown in full lines in Figure 3. yThe f plate 17 is formed with a radial shoulder 2O whichnori mally is engaged by alocking dog 21 pivoted within said compartment,'as indicated at 22. v28 indicates `an arm-integrallyfprojectingdownward from the dog21 for` the" purpose of releasing said dog fromfthc plate 17. The arm 23 is adapted to bek com conable means and inclining downwardly and rearwardly from al slot 25 in said wall. The

rear end of the chute 24 is cut away in its upper portion, as indicated at 26, to form a seat for the lower end of the` arm. 23, said end andthe seat therefor, being inclined to the axis of the chute 24. As will presently appear, the introduction o-f a proper number of coins into the chute 24 will act upon the arm 23 to eliect an upward rocking of the dog 21 to disengage the latter from the locking plate 17. A receptacle 27 resting upon the bottom of the compartment 16 serves to receive the coinsintroduced through the chute 24. To facilitatev putting papers in the box, a latch 28 is provided for engagement with the front edge of the plate 6 to hold said plate down during filling of the box, said latch being automatically released when the cover 2 is closed owing to a thrust transmitted through a rod 29.

Considering now the operation of the described invention, when it is desired to obtain a newspaper or the like'from the receptacle 1, it is necessary, first, to introduce into the coin chute 24 a predetermined number of coins, such as are shown in Figure 3 at 32, the required number of coins being determined by the value of the paper. Thus when the proper number of coins have been introduced into the chute the nal coin projects sufficiently to permit an application of pressure through the row of coins to the lower end of the arm 23 to raise said arm shifting the latter and the dogV 21 to the positions indicated in dash lines in Figure 3. This elevation of the dog releases the same from the shoulder 20 of the plate 17 so that the operator'by an upward pull upon the lever 18 may rock the shaft 8 through the` angle indicated in Figure 3 between the full line and dash line positions of said lever.

The free end of the dog 21 is beveledslightly upon its lower edge so that when the shaft 8 is thus rocked the plate 17 engaging the bevel of the dog 21 will effect a slight further lifting of said dog, whereby the `lower end of the arm 23 will be raised entirely clear of the coins in the chute 24 permitting said coins to discharge from said chute into the receptacle 27 The described rocking movement of the shaft 8 acts, first, to embed the needles 14 in the topmost paper of the stack 6b and then, as

the arms 12 rock to their dash line positions,

said paper is forwardly shifted so as to project the forward edge thereof through the slot 9. The purchaser may now grip said projecting edge and withdraw the paper from the machine. In the meantime, the lever 18 having been released, the spring 19L will return said lever and the rock shaft to their normal positions, returning also the arms swinging during this return motion upon their pivots to avoid interference with such motion due to engagement with the stack Vof papers. As soon as the plate 17 assumesits normal position the dog 21 due to its own weight and that of the arm 23 will drop into engagement with the shoulder 20 thus lowering said arm to obstruct the coin chute and leaving the machine ready for another operation.

Owing to the small profit derived'and to the probability of hard usage it is essential that a machine designed for the automatic sale of newspapers employ mechanism of simple durable and inexpensive construction and these characteristics are believed to have been achieved in the described mechanism.

An important feature of the described construction is subjection of the papers to a constant upward pressure, the stress of which pressure acts only through a relatively small area of the to-p-most paper so that the resistance opposing delivery of the paper through the `discharge slot is slight. Thus only the front edge portion yof the top-most paper engagesthe stop plate 8 whereby said paper is held in the proper spaced relation to the shaft 10 to be acted upon by the arm 12. The reason for failure of many devices designed for a purpose analogous to that of this invention lies in the fact that the pressure acting to maintain an end paper of the stack registered with a discharge opening has subjected said paper to too large resistance by distributing such pressure to the paper through a large area thereof.

1What l claim as my invention is 1.111 a vending machine, the vcombination with a receptacle for articles to be sold, said receptacle having a discharge slot and having a hinged closure, off Aa member pivoted within said receptacle tosupport said articles, a. spring urging said member t0- ward the plane of said slot, a latch engageable with said member to maintain the same remote from 'the slot, and release means for said latch actuable to effect release through closing of saidclosure.

2. In a vending machine, the combination with a receptacle for articles to be sold, said receptacle having a discharge slot and hav ing a pivotal closure, of a member within said receptacle movable t and from the plane of said slot and forming a support for the articles to-be sold, a spring' urging said member toward the plane of said slot, a latch engageable with said membery to hold the latter remote from said plane, a rod extending from said latch toward said closure, and a spring urging said rod toward said closure, said rod being engageable by the closure in the closed position thereof to effect release of said latch.

3. In a vending machine, the combination with a receptacle for articles to be sold, said receptacle having a discharge slot and having a hinged closure, of a member pivotecl Within said receptaclel and acting upon the articles to urge the same toward the plane of said slot, a latch engageable with said member to maintain the same remote from the slot, and release means for said latch actuable to e'ec-t release through closing of 10 said closure.

In testimony whereof I aiiX my signature.

ELMER B. CRAFT. 

